Step By Step Guide On How To Achieve Mouthwatering Jerk Pork

BBQ Jerk Pork: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s how to make delicious BBQ jerk pork, tailored for a UK audience:

Ingredients:

• Pork shoulder (Boston butt), about 3-3.5kg
• Jerk seasoning paste (see Jerk Marinade ingredients below, or use a store-bought paste)
• Wood chips (oak or apple)

Jerk Marinade Ingredients:

• 4 Scotch bonnet chillies, stemmed and halved (use less, or deseed, for a milder flavour)
• 1 green pepper, cored and seeded
• 1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 6 fresh basil leaves, or 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp ground allspice, or more to taste
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Sea Salt
• vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste

Instructions:Part 1: Making the Jerk Marinade

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a food processor
2. Process to a smooth paste, using short bursts
3. Add a little water to get a thick but pourable consistency
4. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more allspice or soy sauce as needed. The mixture should be very salty and flavourful

Part 2: Preparing the Pork

1. Bone the pork shoulder: Cut through one side to the bone, cut around the bone, and continue cutting to almost the other side. Open like a book
2. Remove the bone and pound the pork to about 4 cm thick
3. Make accordion cuts: Parallel cuts 1 cm deep and 5 cm apart from one edge to the other. Turn the pork over and repeat, with cuts midway between the first set

Part 3: Marinating the Pork

1. Spread half the jerk marinade in a roasting pan
2. Place the pork on top and spread with the remaining marinade
3. Marinate in the fridge, covered, for 2-4 hours

Part 4: Preparing for BBQ

1. Soak wood chips water for 1 hour; drain before use
2. Remove pork from marinade, scraping off excess

Part 5: BBQ Grilling

• Indirect Method:
  1. Set up your BBQ for indirect grilling and preheat to medium
  2. For a gas BBQ, add wood chips to the smoker box or a smoker pouch under the grate
  3. For a charcoal BBQ, toss the wood chips and allspice berries on the coals
  4. Place the pork, fat side up, over a drip pan, away from the heat
  5. Cover and grill for 40-60 minutes, until browned and tender. Internal temperature should reach 88-90°C
• Direct Method:
  1. Set up the BBQ for direct grilling and preheat to medium-low
  2. For a charcoal BBQ, add half the wood chips and allspice berries at the start, and the rest when turning the pork
  3. For a gas BBQ, use the same method as the indirect method
  4. Grill for about 20 minutes per side, until browned and tender. Internal temperature should reach 88-90°C

Part 6: Serving

1. Transfer the jerk pork to a cutting board and let it rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes
2. Chop the pork into bite-size pieces
3. Serve with grilled veg, potato salad or rice